


What's Past is Present

by ackles_likes_snackles



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bicycles, Bullying, Childhood Friends, Childhood Memories, Domestic Castiel/Dean Winchester, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Growing Up Together, Light Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:35:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8204791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ackles_likes_snackles/pseuds/ackles_likes_snackles
Summary: Dean and Castiel stumble upon a token of their past and reminisce.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Supernatural Prompt Challenge [September 2016]  
> Theme: Childhood  
> Prompt: Bicycle

“How the hell did we manage to accumulate this much stuff anyway?” Castiel grunted as he hoisted yet another rubber bin down from a dusty shelf.

“Hell if I know, Cas. God knows you can’t let anything go.” A hint of amusement played in Dean’s voice and Cas whirled around to face the man digging in a tattered, old cardboard box behind him.

“Me?!” Castiel repeated, incredulous at Dean’s accusation. “ _I_ can’t let anything go?!” Cas laughed outwardly, sounding a little too hysterical. “Okay Mr. ‘I have to keep every VHS and cassette tape ever made in the history of mankind’. And God knows you could never let go of your precious Ford and Swayze collection.” Cas feigned swooning as he clutched a palm over his heart. He chuckled and rolled his eyes as he turned his attention back to the dusty rubber bin before him, lifting the cover to peer inside. “Not to mention your insane ‘vintage porn collection’.” Cas actually used air quotes just then. 

“Hey.” Dean started in a deep voice. “You knew exactly what you were getting into when you married me, babe. Ain’t my fault you’re so jealous of Ford and Swayze’s good looks.” Oh now Dean was just downright teasing Cas. He could practically _hear_ the smirk on Dean’s face though he couldn’t actually see it. “And those skin mags are rare, man! I could make a fortune off selling those!” Cas just rolled his eyes, trying and failing to keep a small smile from tugging at the corners of his mouth as he shook his head in disbelief. Yeah, the day hell freezes over is the day Dean Winchester sells his beloved Busty Asian Beauties magazine collection. 

In truth, Dean’s inner pack rat was pretty adorable. He was remarkably sentimental about everything, and he could recall the exact memory behind every item without a moment’s hesitation. Cas knew Dean had a thing for keeping mementos from his loved ones. He’d lost so many people close to him in his life that really, Cas couldn’t blame him. Personally, he just never really saw the validity in keeping things when he had memories, and...well, Dean himself. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t have a box filled to the brim with a collection of things he’d gathered throughout the years of his and Dean’s relationship. Yeah, maybe he was a sap. And Dean always made sure to tell him just as much. But Dean was every bit as sappy as Cas was and really, how was that not completely romantic?

“Hey babe, check this out.” Dean’s voice pulled Castiel from his thoughts. He turned his attention back to his husband, catching him in the middle of lowering something that hung from the beams on the ceiling of their garage. He quickly found himself at Dean’s side, grabbing a hold of the thing to help gently lower it to the ground. 

“Oh my God.” Cas breathed as he straightened his back and cast a look of disbelief at Dean.

“I know right.” Dean was simply beaming, that patented ‘Devil May Care’ grin plastered on his face.

“I can’t believe you still have this.” Cas tilted his head to the side as he gazed down at the object before him. Dean’s old bicycle. God, that thing held so many memories for him. For _them._ His mind was whirring as it conjured up old images of Dean on that bike, riding it to and from school every day, his cheeks tinged pink from the rush of the cold wind whipping around him. He couldn’t believe Dean had actually kept this. And how Dean had managed to have it here ever since they moved into this house, Castiel would never know. He shook his head minutely to rid himself of the nostalgia that seemed to be quickly and overwhelmingly surfacing to the front of his mind now.

“Dean, we really should continue to look for Sam’s things. He’ll be here this weekend to pick them up.” After all, that’s what they’d come out here to do in the first place. Now that Sam was moving into a place of his own after finishing law school, he finally had a place to keep his own things. Which mainly entailed ‘nerdy shit’ as Dean so lovingly liked to refer to his little brother’s boxes of recreational reading books and the, admittedly large, collection of Lord of the Rings paraphernalia as. Cas had groaned at the mere thought of having to sort through their cluttered garage to find Sam’s things, all of which had long since been buried under the countless bins and boxes of things Castiel was never able to remember how he and Dean came to own. The garage was essentially the void where they stored things they either didn’t have room for in the house or just couldn’t be bothered to sort through and throw away. 

Dean, on the other hand, had practically lit up at the idea of venturing into the depths of the void. Outwardly, he had griped about it, but Cas knew him better than that. He had been like a boy in a candy store all day, smiling fondly at each item he reunited with, as if rediscovering it all over again. He handled everything he touched with his large, calloused hands with so much care that it reminded Castiel of when Dean would kiss him chastely on the lips and gently caress his cheek in one hand as he held Castiel firm against his own frame with a strong arm wrapped around his waist. Yeah. Dean really was a true romantic at heart. Of course he’d never actually admit that to anyone out loud, but Cas smiled to himself knowing this more vulnerable side of Dean. It was reserved only for Castiel and his cheeks flushed now with the thought of it. 

“You remember what you said to me the first time we met?” Dean was crouched down next to the old bike now, completely having ignored Castiel’s earlier implication that they should focus on the task at hand. He was cleaning the dust off the bike with a rag, still grinning with what looked like fondness at the old thing. 

Castiel, once again pulled from his own thoughts, ducked his head and smiled shyly as Dean gave him a knowing look and patted the cement floor beside him, signaling for Cas to join him. And Cas did. There was a long moment of comfortable silence between them as he sat cross-legged beside Dean and watched him polish the dull, slightly rusted metal. 

“I like your bike.” Cas intoned softly with the ghost of a smile playing at his lips. He was looking at Dean now with a fond expression, distant memories clawing their way to the forefront of Castiel’s mind. Dean smiled back at his husband with what Castiel could only describe as pure adoration. 

Dean nodded once then plopped down out of his crouching position next to Cas, nudging him with his shoulder as he leaned back on his hands. “She’s a beaut, ain’t she?”

__________

__  
“Thanks! She’s a beaut, ain’t she?” The freckled-face boy beamed with pride at the compliment to his jade-colored bicycle. The well-polished metal seemed to shine and shimmer under the early morning sunlight. He pat the seat of the bike with a firm hand after having climbed off it and securing it with a small lock to the bike rack in front of Lawrence Junior High. “She’s my baby,” the boy added with a smile aimed at the dark-haired boy before him.

_Castiel could feel his own smile widen and his cheeks warm under the boy’s attention._

_“I’m Dean by the way,” the freckled-face boy added with enthusiasm as he stuck out his hand toward the dark-haired boy._

_Castiel stared down at the offered hand before him, his brows scrunching together in confusion as he continue to clutch the straps of his yellow and black striped backpack over his shoulders._

_“Here,” the freckled-face boy covered one of the dark-haired boy’s hands with his own and moved to place it in his other hand so he could shake it properly. “Like this, see?” He shook the other boy’s hand firmly and grinned. “What’s your name?”_

_Castiel was staring down at their joined hands in awe. He had never met someone his own age so forward and so..._ pleasant. _“Cas-” he cleared his throat, hoarse from its lack of use, before continuing. “Castiel. My name is Castiel.”_

_Their hands were still clasped firmly together when Dean responded, his grin widening. “Well, Cas. It’s nice to meetcha. You headin’ inside?” With his free hand, Dean hooked a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the school building._

_Cas nodded._

_“Wanna walk together?” Dean’s eyes were wide and almost...hopeful?_

_Cas paused, surprised at the invitation. Then he nodded._

_“Cool.” Dean’s eyes lit up and finally dropped Castiel’s hand to hook his thumbs under the straps of his backpack as he started toward the building. Cas quickly fell in step behind him. “So who’s class are you in?”_

_“Milton’s,” Cas replied succinctly._

_“Bummer, man. I hear he’s a hardass. I’ve got Shurley. He’s a little shifty, but he’s cool.” Dean shrugged. “That explains why I haven’t seen you around then?” There’s was a twinge of questioning in his comment as his voice lilted upwards at the end._

_The corners of Castiel’s mouth twitched upward involuntarily. He liked Dean. He seemed to have a lot of character. “That and I only just moved here a couple weeks ago.”_

_Dean turned to look at Cas’s profile now as they pushed through the front doors of the school together, the volume of voices around them instantly increasing in the confines of the hallway. “Oh yeah?” Dean nodded to himself, seemingly in interest, and pursed his lips. “Where you comin’ from?”_

_“Pontiac, Illinois. My dad got a new job here so we moved.” They had reached Castiel’s locker now so he stopped abruptly to reach for his lock, causing Dean to stumble over him and shove them both into the bay of lockers in front of them._

_“Oh geez, sorry man! I didn’t know you were gonna stop like that,” Dean chuckled, admittedly a little awkwardly, as he firmly took hold of Cas’s upper arm to steady him. “You alright there, Cas?” Castiel laughed then. And damn if it wasn’t the mostly brilliantly beautiful laugh Dean had ever witnessed. He even snorted a little there at the end, and Dean actually had to lean against the lockers to steady himself._

_Even as Castiel’s laughter died down, Dean’s hand was still on his arm. His own laughter had taken him by surprise. He couldn’t seem to help it really, the whole incident was just sort of amusing. Cas couldn’t even figure out why, exactly. He looked Dean directly in the eye then to indicate his sincerity and_ oh. _His eyes were green._ Very _green. And they sparkled just like his bike did when the sun hit it just right. Only Dean’s eyes had little flecks of gold, too. Cas’s throat rippled as he swallowed. “I’m alright, Dean. Thank you.”_

_The bell rang then, indicating the five minute warning students had to get to class. They both startled at the sudden, obnoxious noise and the consequent commotion of students milling around them. They laughed together this time, mainly at themselves for being caught so off guard. Castiel had never felt this...comfortable...with anyone before. Let alone with a boy he had only just met several minutes ago._

_Dean pushed himself away from the lockers then. “See ya ‘round, Cas.” he announced with a clasp to Castiel’s shoulder. And just like that, Dean was gone._

__

__________

It was a particularly sunny, fall day in Lawrence, Kansas. Maybe it was because Castiel was having such a good day and couldn’t seem to stop smiling to himself, but everything around him just seemed to be more...alive. _Colors were more vibrant, smells more pungent, every touch and feeling against his skin sparked and tingled. Even his school lunch didn’t make him want to gag today. And now as he walked home from school, the sun seemed to shine more brightly than he’d ever seen before._

_He had quickly learned the best route to take to and from school was by taking a shortcut through the woods behind the school building. It was nice, actually. Quiet and peaceful as birds chirped in nearby trees and squirrels scurried around chasing each other. Castiel took extra time today to appreciate his surroundings. Most of the leaves had fallen off the trees by now, leaving everything in various brown and gray tones with a colorful path of oranges, reds, and yellows beneath his feet. He was admiring the various shades of the leaves littering the earth under him when he noticed a tiny, green inchworm. For some reason, Castiel had been extra attentive to everything that was the color green today. Every shade of green seemed to stick out more vibrantly than anything else, seemingly calling to him._

_Castiel was crouched down at the edge of the narrow trail in the woods letting the green inchworm crawl over his fingers when he felt a sudden blow right above the small of his back. And before he knew it, he was face down in the dirt. An eruption of laughter sounded behind Castiel and he scrambled to his feet, only to turn around and come face to face with three boys doubled over in their fit of amusement._

_Castiel’s shoulders slumped at the quick realization that he recognized these boys. He had learned early on that they had quite the reputation at school. Zachariah, Uriel, and Raphael. Relentlessly teasing and degrading anyone who dared cross paths with them. But more than that, they actually_ sought out _weaker kids to torment. Raphael seemed to be the leader of their little group from what Castiel had observed. He was tall for his age with lanky limbs. Zachariah and Uriel were both more on the stocky side, but that merely added to their level of intimidation. They wore hideous sneers as they stood behind Raphael now, glaring down at Castiel hungrily as if he were their next meal._

_And suddenly, Cas wished he hadn’t been dragging his feet on his trek back home today. He knew he had to get out of there. Now. In a quick attempt to escape, Castiel whirled on his heels and bolted. He’d only made it a few feet when he tripped over an exposed tree root, effectively slowing him down as he struggled to stay on his feet. A quick shove to his shoulders from one of the bigger boys then had him on the ground again, the heels of his palms digging into stray pine needles and sharp twigs. Castiel hissed in pain. He hadn’t even had time to process how he ended up deeper in the woods and off the trail before a swift kick to his ribs had him dropped over on his side, curling in on himself purely out of human survival instinct._

_“Yeah, show him Raph!” one of Castiel’s tormentors shouted in encouragement. The laughter and the shouting made his ears ring, and everything sounded much farther off than it probably was._

_A handful of small rocks came raining down on Castiel’s head and he flinched at the sharp pain. He was curled into the fetal position on his side and burying his face into the crook of his elbows as the blows to his ribs kept coming while one tormentor seemingly took to throwing rocks at his head. Castiel didn’t know when he’d started screaming and whimpering in a futile attempt to make them stop, but his throat was now raw and his face was wet. When did he start crying?_

_God, he was going to die, wasn’t he? This was it. There was no way he could take on three of these guys. All he could do was just lay there in the dirt and take the beating. He never stood a chance._

_Suddenly, he felt a glob of something wet land on his ear. Was it raining? No, it couldn’t be. Everything was happening so fast and his brain was working in overdrive trying to catch up with him. It wasn’t only until later that Castiel could recount that the boys were spitting on him at that point. All the confusion as to why this was even happening only made Castiel’s stomach twist into tighter knots and the hot tears stream faster down his face._

_He didn’t know how much time had passed. He didn’t know how many disgusting comments were spit in his direction. Maybe he blacked out at some point. He really didn’t know anymore. He didn’t know when it would stop, if it would ever stop. It wasn’t until he heard the tell tale sound of tires crunching over twigs and leaves that Castiel finally peeked out from under his arms. A flash of green zoomed past his line of vision and then there was the increasing sound of feet thumping fast against the earth as if someone were running toward him. And shouting. There was a lot of shouting._

_“Hey! Get off him!” Castiel couldn’t see his rescuer. Everything was sort of blurry and faded in and out. Darkness laced at the edge of his vision. He kept still, trying to stay hidden. There was the sound of skin on skin contact as if someone were just slapped or punched. Curse words were thrown back and forth and a few grunts of pain sounded through the air. Some more shouting and running. Then nothing. Still, Castiel didn’t move. He didn’t want to risk it. What if is attackers were still standing right behind him? Then there was a gentle touch to his shoulder, urging him to turn over. Castiel flinched at the contact._

_“Cas, buddy, you alright? Hey, look at me! Crap, I gotta get you outta here, man. Turn over for me.” And Castiel did. The voice was familiar and the flash of green eyes on his blue ones even more so. Cas groaned in pain at the movement and Dean shushed him in an attempt to be soothing. He appreciated the sentiment, but this situation was anything but soothing._

_“Can you stand up for me, Cas? I’ve got you, I promise. Here,” Dean moved to wrap an arm around Castiel’s shoulders and helped him gingerly to his feet. He held Cas firm against himself as they walked the few feet that felt like miles until they came to that familiar bike Cas had only laid eyes on just this morning. It was laying at the edge of the trail as if it had been thrown there in a hurry. Dean set it back up on it’s two wheels haphazardly while still struggling to keep Castiel upright. Dean directed Cas to sit on the seat while he pushed the bike and steered the handlebars. He wrapped Castiel’s arms around his own waist and instructed him to hold on tight so he wouldn’t fall off. So Cas did what he was told and held onto Dean as tight as he could._

_Castiel didn’t know how long it took to make it to Dean’s house. His sense of time was completely obliterated by now and his vision was still blurred, particularly in his left eye. It wasn’t until later that he found out that eye had been swollen almost completely shut._

_Upon reaching Dean’s house, Cas was half-dragged into the house and greeted by a tall, blonde woman dressed in a sundress and a soft-looking cardigan. Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of the two boys and in Castiel’s muddled mind, he figured he must be quite the picture right about now. The woman quickly took Castiel into the bathroom and set him up on the counter to clean his wounds. She fret and tsked at the sight of each new scratch and bruise she discovered, but continually soothed him with sweet promises that everything would be okay and he could have some hot chocolate once he was all cleaned up. Dean looked on with worry as he handed his mother medicinal gauze to cover the particularly large gash over Castiel’s left eyebrow. His hair was matted to his head and dried blood was crusted in places he must have been bleeding earlier. His face was sticky with tears and spit, but a warm washcloth took care of that quickly._

_Sometime later, Castiel was surprised to realize that was how he had met Dean’s mother for the first time. Mary Winchester, the most angelic woman if he’d ever seen one. The rest of that evening had remained nothing but a blur in Castiel’s memory, but Dean has since filled him in more than once. Dean had told his mother that Castiel’s family only just moved into town the other week, so Mary concluded this must be the Novak’s boy. Castiel’s own mother Amelia had arrived sometime later to bring him home and fret over how he should have known better than to walk through those woods alone. But not until he had gotten a mug of warm and soothing hot chocolate down his raw throat and an episode of Power Rangers in with Dean close by his side on the couch._

_“Don’t worry about those guys, Cas. They’re nothing but a bunch of jerks with ugly mugs,” Dean reassured Castiel at one point during a commercial break. He offered warm smiles that made Castiel think things might really be okay. If he’s got this one friend, then that’s all he really needs._

_And friends they became. They soon discovered they only lived a couple blocks away from each other, and Dean offered to give Castiel a ride on his bike to and from school everyday. It became their ritual. Cas would sit on Dean’s handlebars with a big grin on his face as the wind whipped through his thick, dark hair. And Dean would laugh at Castiel’s enthusiasm with a big grin and twinkle in his eye._

_That bike Dean so lovingly referred to as his ‘baby’ became theirs. It wasn’t just Dean’s anymore. He told Cas just as much one night when they were freshman in high school. He’d been working on rebuilding it so it would fit their taller, growing frames._

_Castiel always admired how the bike was the same color as Dean’s eyes. And Cas told Dean as much on the night of their junior prom when they rode on it to school together. Dean blushed and Cas kissed his cheek, only for Dean to flush a deeper crimson. That was what they considered to be their first official date._

_And when Dean crashed his bike and broke his nose the summer before his freshman year at KSU because he_ still _didn’t have a car, Cas kissed the bump on his nose and told him it added character to his face. It never sat straight again after that._

_That bike was shown a lot of love over the years the two boys grew up together. But it had it’s fair share of anguish, too. It sat rusted and weathered outside the Winchester’s old shed for years while Dean was away at KSU and Castiel attended Saint Mary’s in Leavenworth. It was left alone and neglected, much like Cas and Dean’s strained relationship. They split after a particularly heated argument over their lack of communication, one accusing the other of broken promises and lack of commitment. They were young and stupid._

_It wasn’t until after Dean graduated with an engineering degree and Castiel’s acceptance into veterinary school that they reunited. It seemed that the years spent apart had fizzed out the anger and resentment toward each other over things in the past they both couldn’t be bothered to remember. They picked up where they left off and were married just over two years later.  
_

__________

And somehow, that jade green bike had found itself back in their lives again. How, Castiel will never know. He’d long since given up on trying to figure out how Dean managed to do most things. Dean kept him on his toes, that was one thing he was certain about. He was never bored in their relationship.

“Dean, don’t you think you should’ve gotten rid of that old thing by now?” Castiel squinted at the bike sitting so innocently in front of him. It was well taken care of, he knew. But good God, they needed to throw some things out, didn't they? This garage was a mess.

“What? Are ya kiddin’ me?” Dean feigned offence and proceeded to stroke the seat of the old bike lovingly. A small smile crossed his face as he said, “This baby got me my man.”

Cas chuckled softly and ducked his head at that. Dean crooked an index finger under Castiel’s chin to tilt his head back up until their eyes met. And Cas melted as he always did under Dean’s heated attention. Their lips brushed together softly and Cas whimpered. Dean hummed in approval as he smiled against Castiel’s lips and deepened the kiss. 

“Every relationship is built on somethin’, Cas” Dean murmured against the sensitive skin just below Castiel’s ear before nipping along his lightly stubbled jawline. “And this bike here is our foundation.” 

Cas couldn’t help but smile then. It was true, after all. He may complain that Dean is a borderline hoarder, but at the end of the day, Cas would never be able to part with that old bike either. It held too many precious memories. And hey, maybe they could one day tell their kids about that bike and just why it was so special, right? It’s something to think about.

But for now, it seemed to really spur Dean on as he held Cas in his arms. “Dean,” Cas breathed hoarsely as he tried shoving Dean off him. “We really need to get back to work and find Sam’s things.”

Dean only responded by kissing Cas more feverishly and raking his hands under Cas’s ratty, gray tee to smooth against the planes of tanned skin underneath. “Sammy can find his own shit,” Dean muttered in finality, obviously done with the subject. 

Cas laughed freely then and laid down on an old tarp behind him, pulling Dean down on top of him. Dean’s eyes darkened with lust before diving back in to capture Castiel’s lips with his own. “God, I’m glad I found our old bike.”

Cas gripped Dean’s shoulders, pulling his husband tight so their chests were flush together as he responded, “Me, too.” And he was.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments and kudos are very highly appreciated and always welcome :)  
> [My Tumblr](http://adoringjensen.tumblr.com)


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